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All posts for the month January, 2012

Well today was a long but okay day. I got up early and headed to the gym. I wasn’t feeling very well but I managed to get through my workout. Like I said, this isn’t going to stop me. It was my usual base workout. I also called the cardiologist and made an appointment for February 10th so I guess I will wait and see what he says then. I am experiencing some chest pain tonight which is discouraging but it’s not as severe as monday so I will ride it out. I had a small amount on Wednesday night as well after coming home from the gym. I know the moral of the story is that I need to take it easy. Tonight we went to a chinese buffett for dinner and I had fresh mussels with some chili sauce, some sushi, and a small amount of boneless pork spareribs for a treat. These were good healthy choices and surprisingly I was full after two small plates where normally I would be going for the gusto! I am very proud of myself! So YAY ME!!!

Well monday I went to the gym as you know. What you didn’t hear was that monday night I was rushed by ambulance to the hospital with crushing chest pain, shortness of breath, and pain down my left arm. Suffice it to say, I survived. Not a heart attack. A few hours at the ER and a follow-up today at my physician and it turns out I have angina. Yes, at 31, I have angina. So Now I have to go for a stress test and cardiac work up. But I am not letting this slow me down. In fact the doctor was impressed by my lowered cholesterol, my improved blood pressure, and my weight loss. He didn’t say I had to stop working out. So I didn’t. I went today. I did my usual workout. I of course paid dearly for it with another episode of chest pain but this time one that quickly subsided. I need to schedule the cardiologist as soon as possible. And I need to keep up with my diet and exercise routine. I just need to slow down on the exercise. I will admit that I am a little bit discouraged at this bit of a development. But like I said, I won’t let this stop me. I just need to let it slow me down a little bit. So that’s that. I did find this neat picture of me at the weight where I want to be at at the end of the year. This is it. It doesn’t look like a huge difference but trust me it is. I will try to take a picture tomorrow of myself at my current weight and post it so that you can see where I am at compared to where I was at the beginning and where I want to be.

Today I started the team face your life 7 week fitness challenge. Each week there is a series of challenges and points are awarded based on participation, workouts, and goals met. My goal for the seven week program is to lose 7 pounds. This weeks theme is water fitness. Extra points are allotted for water aerobic classes so I will try to attend at least one if I can. In the meantime I hit the gym today with my husband and worked out for three hours. Got alot accomplished and pushed myself pretty well. The following is my workout as posted on fitocracy.com:

Machine Bench Press:

40 lb x 20 reps (+21 pts)

40 lb x 20 reps (+21 pts)

EZ-Bar Curl:

40 lb x 20 reps (+13 pts)

40 lb x 20 reps (+13 pts)

Seated Cable Row:

55 lb x 30 reps (+30 pts)

55 lb x 10 reps (+20 pts)

Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown:

55 lb x 30 reps (+28 pts)

55 lb x 10 reps (+19 pts)

Swimming:

0:45:00 || 19 laps (25m) (+299 pts)

Leg Press:

130 lb x 25 reps (+37 pts)

130 lb x 25 reps (+37 pts)

130 lb x 20 reps (+33 pts)

Leg Extensions:

70 lb x 20 reps (+15 pts)

70 lb x 20 reps (+15 pts)

Walking (treadmill):

0:30:00 || 1.3 mi (+26 pts)

2.5 mph

Abductor Machine:

75 lb x 20 reps (+14 pts)

75 lb x 20 reps (+14 pts)

Stair Machine:

0:10:00 (+63 pts)

Adductor Machine:

75 lb x 20 reps (+14 pts)

75 lb x 20 reps (+14 pts)

Seated Leg Curl:

70 lb x 20 reps (+15 pts)

70 lb x 20 reps (+15 pts)

Cycling (stationary):

0:10:00 || 2.3 mi (+51 pts)

Not bad right? I think not. I am committed this week to working out monday, wednesday, and friday. Come hell or high water I will be there. I feel pretty good though I feel pretty tired today after today’s workout too. But it’s a good kind of tired.

I think supplements are an important part of any diet and exercise regimen. I take a women’s bioactive multivitamin daily which has extra calcium and vitamin D. It’s available at any drugstore or online. You can buy any brand but there are some particularly good ones out there. you just have to do your research. I also take African Mango. African Mango has many uses and is particularly good for those with diabetes and obesity. I am at risk of diabetes because of my obesity. It basically decreases insulin resistance, lowers blood glucose levels, and inhibits enzymes which convert blood glucose into fat. more specific info can be found at www.drugs.com/npp/african-mango.html. I order my african mango through amazon.com but you can order it through any number of websites and health care and nutrition stores. I also take acai berry extract. Acai is high in antioxidants and has some anti inflammatory properties as well. As I continue on my journey, I will add to this regimen but for now it is working for me. I have to be careful what I take because my stomach is very sensitive and gets irritated very easily. I do also take chia seeds. Chia seeds are, when hydrated, sort of like unflavored tapioca. They help to keep you hydrated and keep you regular. You can find more information on chia seeds at www.therawfoodworld.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=100148_100166&products_id=1001333 as well as be able to purchase them. Well that’s it for tonight peeps!

Okay seeing as sunday is the start of the new week, it’s time to look back at the week and look at my goals and decide what worked and what didn’t. This week I only managed to go to the gym twice which was a problem on my part. In order to fix this for next week I am keeping myself to a monday, Wednesday, friday, schedule. I did go to the green grocer which was good. I don’t know if I lost one pound because my eating was way out of control. I ate out four times this week and it just wasn’t healthy and my body is feeling it. I also slacked off at writing in my journal and writing pen pal letters last night and just went to bed. Tonight I am also passing on writing pen pal letters and just writing in my journal and workbook and am going to bed. tomorrow is a fresh start and I will work harder to regain balance. So my goals for this week:

to lose one pound

to go to the gym m-w-f

to drink two green smoothies a day

to go to the doctor on Wednesday

to go to therapy on saturday

to work in my workbook and journal every night

to blog every day

To write a few pen pal letters this week and try to start catching up.

So those are my goals. Starting tomorrow, it’s a brand new fresh start. And I am going to feel good about that.